Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood host the 50th Annual CMA Awards

Submitted

Wed, May 25th 2016 04:20 pm

Live from Nashville on the ABC Television Network, Wednesday,
Nov. 2

Country superstars Brad Paisley and
Carrie Underwood will return to host "Country Music's Biggest Night" in 2016.
The 50th Annual CMA Awards airs live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on
Wednesday, Nov. 2 (8-11 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network.

The return of the popular pair was
announced during Paisley's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and via
Underwood's social network. The follow-up CMA social announcement included a
video highlight reel of the first 50 years of CMA Awards moments.

"This is a milestone year for the
CMA Awards as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, and the broadcast is in great
hands with Brad and Carrie," said Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO. "They are genuinely
invested in the ongoing success of the CMA Awards, but they are equally
committed to honoring the traditions that are the foundation of 'Country
Music's Biggest Night.' "

"I really enjoy hosting the CMA
Awards with Brad," Underwood said. "Of course we have fun up there, but we take
the responsibility of honoring the best artists in the format and shining a
positive light on country music very seriously. And this year, the bar will be
even higher as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the CMA Awards. I can't
wait."

"I look forward to hosting the CMA
Awards each year," Paisley said. "Carrie and I have certainly hit our stride in
terms of balancing humor and a genuine respect for the nominees and winners.
This year, the stakes are higher than ever as we honor the legacy and
traditions of the past 50 years. We will give it everything we've got."

Paisley has won 14 CMA Awards since
receiving the Horizon Award (now the New Artist Award) in 2000, including
Entertainer of the Year (2010), Male Vocalist (2007-09) and Album (2006 for "Time
Well Wasted"). He won Musical Event of the Year three times, first in 2004 with
Alison Krauss for "Whiskey Lullaby," second in 2006 for "When I Get Where I'm
Going" with Dolly Parton, and a third time in 2009 for "Start a Band" with
Keith Urban. He claimed the Vocal Event of the Year trophy in 2001 for "Too
Country" with Bill Anderson, George Jones and Buck Owens; and won Music Video
of the Year four times, including "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)"
(2002), "Whiskey Lullaby" (with Krauss, 2004), "Online" (2007), and "Waitin' on
a Woman" (featuring Andy Griffith, 2008). He is No. 3 on the list of the top
CMA Awards nominees of all time.

Underwood has received five CMA
Awards in her career: three consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year trophies
(2006-08), as well as Single of the Year (2007 for "Before He Cheats"), and the
Horizon Award (2006). Her 23 career CMA Awards nominations include three for
Album of the Year for "Carnival Ride" (2008), "Play On" (2010) and "Blown Away"
(2013); five nominations for Music Video of the Year for "Jesus, Take the Wheel"
(2006), "Before He Cheats" (2007), "Blown Away" (2013), "Somethin' Bad" (a duet
with Miranda Lambert, 2014), and "Something in the Water" (2015); and two for
Musical Event of the Year for "I Told You So" featuring Randy Travis (2009) and
"Somethin' Bad" (2014). She has been nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year
every year since first being nominated in 2006 (2006-15).

The 2016 CMA Awards nominees and
winners are determined by more than 7,300 professional members of CMA, which, in
1958, was the first trade organization formed to promote an individual genre of
music. The eligibility period for the 2016 CMA Awards is July 1, 2015, to June
30, 2016.

The first "CMA Awards Banquet and
Show" was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on
television for the first time - making it the longest-running annual music
awards program on network TV. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC
will be the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA's other two television
properties, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" and "CMA Country
Christmas," through 2021.

Ticket information for the CMA Awards will be
announced later this summer with information available at CMAawards50.com. Or follow the conversation on
Twitter at #CMAawards50.